Tigers vs. Jayhawks: From the Civil War to the Battle for No.1

by Mark Godich

Missouri and Kansas went from unranked at the start of the 2007 college football season to playing for No. 1 in the country on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so no wonder Brent Musburger chose his words carefully as he addressed a national television audience moments before kickoff of the rivals historic meeting. Let this sink in, Musburger, the long-time broadcaster, said. If either Kansas or Missouri wins their next two games, they will play for the national championship. Kansas and Missouri? Really? Really. The 2007 college football season was unlike any other. Yet in a year filled with unfathomable twists and turns, Missouri and Kansas kept winning, setting up the biggest game ever played in the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi. Tigers versus Jayhawks: From the Civil War to the Battle for No. 1 dissects the monumental meeting, but it does much more than that. This book traces the bad blood between fans of the schools to the Civil War and before. It examines how Coaches Gary Pinkel of Missouri and Mark Mangino of Kansas built Big 12 doormats into national-title contenders. It deconstructs the deal that was struck to move the 2007 game to Kansas City, Mo., denying the Jayhawks the opportunity to host the biggest game in program history on their campus. It explores the Orange Bowl s head-scratching decision to invite Kansas over Missouri. Most important, this book takes the reader inside Arrowhead, inside the locker rooms, inside the huddles, inside the headsets, inside the heads of the players and coaches and administrators. The unquestioned leader of the Tigers was defensive tackle Lorenzo Williams. He describes in chilling detail the shocking death of teammate Aaron O Neal, who collapsed in front of him after a voluntary workout in July 2005. Williams talks about the circuitous route he took to Columbia as well as the direct path he took to sack Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing for a safety on the game s signature play. Tight end Martin Rucker, who signed with his home-state school because he wanted to be the guy who put the Tigers back on the football map, recalls the special satisfaction he got when he scored on a fake field goal against Nebraska. Chase Daniel reveals why he honored his commitment to Mizzou even after his beloved Texas Longhorns made an 11th-hour offer. And the follow-the-book Pinkel explains why he broke one of the tenets of Coaching 101 with the message he delivered to his captains two days after an October loss to Oklahoma. Mangino reflects on the fall afternoon in 2004 that was a turning point for his program, when after a bitter loss he showed his players he had their backs. Reesing shares how a star quarterback from Austin ended up in Lawrence and how he played with a chip on his shoulder after one Texas school told him he was on its B-list of recruits. And Carl Peterson discusses how he worked tirelessly for 15 years to bring the game to Arrowhead, finally fulfilling a dream of Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt. It would arguably be the city s biggest sporting event ever. The atmosphere was electric. You could feel the hostility in the air, Mizzou backup quarterback Chase Patton says. These are just a few of the storylines surrounding the biggest game two bitter, border rivals will ever play, a game a former President called the best he has ever seen. As the 2007 season played out, Missouri and Kansas became the talk of the college football world. And for one frigid November night, all eyes were on Arrowhead Stadium. Missouri-Kansas? Really!

Genres: Sports

272 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, my view of this book is greatly skewed as a Mizzou alum, Mizzou football fan, and someone who was present at the 2007 game that frames this book. That said, this book is a great history of the rivalry (sadly, now largely dead), between the Universities of Missouri and kansas (as any decent Mizzou alum, I'm not big on capitalizing the state to the west). The book does a nice job of telling some of the history of the two states, going back to the Civil War, that lead to the rivalry between the schools. It's full of great facts and colorful personalities. It you're a Mizzou alum, an alum from that other school, or even just a fan of college sports, this is well worth your time.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good football story by a writer at Sports Illustrated, with my favorite parts being the author's tie-in of Civil War history (Quantrill's Raiders, the bushwackers), together with his references to the Richardson High School Eagles. The author Mark Godich grew up one block over from me, and we were in the same grade and on the same high school newspaper staff. The last part, where he briefly talks about his wife's cancer diagnosis and successful fight during writing the book, was maybe the most inspiring part. Goals met, whether on the gridiron or not.

[Mark Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, books about local sporting events aren't well thought out or out together. This one defies that trend. It's well written, well thought out and flows like a good book should. Truly enjoyable and a nice keepsake of a wonderful season.

[Patricia Schwerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic take on a long simmering feud and its carryover to sports. Great read with fun facts.

[CJ Becker · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book loosely about the Mizzou-Kansas football rivalry but more a book about Mizzou's 2007 season.

This book tells the story of the Kansas-Missouri game from a Mizzou point of view (which is fine, they won the game)

If you're looking for a book about this great 100+ year rivalry, keep looking. The book is written by a Mizzou alum and spends most of the book from the viewpoint of a Mizzou fan. There are a couple of chapters dedicated to Kansas' season, but they really only serve to add context to the story of Mizzou in 2007.

If you're a Mizzou fan, this book is probably fine. But the biased viewpoint, excusing Missouri's actions pre-Civil War and multiple jabs at programs like Nebraska, Oklahoma and Kansas, come off more like jealousy to a nonbiased reader.

The formatting of this book gave me a headache. The words fill the entire page, with minimal margins at the top and bottom of the page. It's an eyesore. On top of that, this book features that thing you usually see in magazines and coffee table books where an important quote from the text are rewritten about ten times larger than the rest of the book to emphasize it's importance. That works in a large magazine, but in a smaller book with margin issues to begin with, it makes reading the book nauseating.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history portion of the book more than the current-day reporting. The author is a Missouri alum who never tries to hide his bias. In addition to spending more time with the Tigers backstory than the Jayhawks, he neglects to cover KU’s subsequent Orange Bowl appearance. Instead, he teases that KU getting the Orange Bowl bid instead of Missouri was one of the reasons why MU bolted for the SEC. Illustrating why that - and other - decisions played into ending the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River would have been a spectacular ending. Instead the book wraps up with a boring case of sour grapes.

[Drew Champlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book if you nerd out on random sports history even if you are not from the area.

[Stephen Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Kansas Graduate, there was too much about the slavers. But a good read

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tigers fans will love the history.